FORMER Cardiff Devils defenceman Chris Frank returns to South Wales with Sheffield Steelers tomorrow having taken a swipe at the club’s rink saying: “It’s the smallest ice pad I’ve ever played on,” writes Terry Phillips.

Devils are still playing out of a temporary home in Cardiff Bay, although plans for their new rink nearby are progressing. Work is due to start within the next month or so and Devils are keen to move in for the start of the 2014-15 Elite League season.

Tomorrow, title-chasing Steelers, still intent on catching top two Nottingham and Belfast, come to Cardiff Bay Arena badly needing a victory to maintain their challenge.

“Cardiff’s rink is a really hard place to go,” says Frank, who scored 13 points in 50 appearances for Devils last season.

“We go from a big ice in Sheffield to a sheet of unheard-of size. It is the smallest I have ever played in. It feels like a three-on-three rink, but that kind of plays into our hands.

“We like to muck it up, like to play physical so we can take bodies.”

Sheffield could well be Cardiff’s opponents in the play-off quarter-finals and both will want to make a point.

Devils, though, will be without Phil Hill, who has had emergency surgery on the wrist injury he suffered playing for Great Britain during final Olympic qualifiers in Latvia.

He has not suffered a broken bone and remains hopeful of being back in action for the Elite League play-offs, saying: “I will ensure I stay fit and if my wrist is ready I want to play.”

Devils are already without Mac Faulkner, who is out for the rest of this season with ligament damage.

Coaches Gerad Adams and Neil Francis, meanwhile, continue their search for a new import signing and have until a deadline at midnight on Friday to get their man.

They have gone close to getting their man and Francis says: “We are giving this everything, but the situation in North America means players are being called up to the next League.

“We have talked to many, many people and got close to bringing somebody in, but it hasn’t quite worked out yet. We won’t stop between now and the deadline.”